Microarrays are used increasingly for a number of purposes, particularly in the processing and detection of analytes of interest, such as in biological applications. In such settings, microarrays are formed on a substrate, and analytes, such as molecules of interest, may be formed or deposited at sites on the substrate. The microarrays may be employed for building, imaging, or analyzing biological material, such as strands of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA), although many other analytes may be loaded and processed. When employed for DNA and RNA analysis, such microarrays may be used to bind, build (e.g., hybridize), and study fragments of these molecules. When the molecules originate from a test subject or patient, the processing may reveal sequences of the nucleic acids making up the fragments, and these may be pieced together to determine all of part of the genome of the subject.
In many applications, microarrays are located in an assembly called a flow cell for processing. The flow cell protects the microarrays and the molecules loaded on them, and allows for introduction of other chemistry into the environment of the microarray, such as for reaction with the loaded molecule. The flow cells also often allow for imaging of the sites at which the molecules are bound, and resulting image data is used for the desired analysis.
As this technology has improved, conventional flow cell designs, and the design of the equipment that allows them to be loaded and properly positioned for processing have evolved. In many instances, important in these designs are not only the reliability of the protection and robustness of the flow cells, but also the high degree of accuracy with which they allow positioning of the flow cells (and microarrays) with respect to processing and imaging components. Tolerances for such components may be demanding, particularly for imaging and, where movement is involved, displacement of the flow cells. Sealed fluid connections are also useful, and these may be made rapidly and accurately. Moreover, to improve throughput, many or all of these operations may be automated or semi-automated, including the securement and positioning of the flow cells, and the completion of the fluid connections.
There is, therefore, a continuing need for improved techniques for accommodating microarrays in processing and imaging equipment, and a particular need for reliable and efficient flow cell designs, and designs of systems that secure the flow cells into processing equipment.